Search for tag "Martyrdom"

The Báb sends Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí to Najaf and Karbalá to proclaim His Cause among the Shaykhís. In Najaf Mullá `Alí delivers a letter from the Báb to Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan Najafí, the leading Shí`í divine and the keeper of the shrines in Iraq. [BBRSM15; DB87-91; SBBH20–1, HotD46]

The Shaykh's rejection of the claim leads to violent debate. Mullá `Alí is taken to Baghdád and imprisoned there. After a public trial, a joint tribunal of Sunní and Shí`í `ulamá, he is sent to Istanbul. He is the first martyr of the Bábí Dispensation. It is significant that Mullá Hasan Gawhar, a leading figure of the Shaykhí school, participated in the condemnation as it marks the first major challenge to Babism from a Shaykhí leader. [B27, 37–8, 58; BBR83–90; BBRSM17; BKG31; DB90–2; MMBA, BBR2p17, GPB10]

The Báb, divested of His turban and sash, is taken on foot to the barracks in Tabríz. Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Zunúzí, Anís, throws himself at the feet of the Báb and asks to go with Him. [B153; DB507]

That night the Báb asks that one of His companions kill Him, rather than let Him die at the hands of His enemies. Anís offers to do this but is restrained by the others. The Báb promises that Anís will be martyred with Him. [B154–5; DB507–8]

In the morning the Báb is taken to the homes of the leading clerics to obtain the death-warrants. [B155; DB508]

The warrants are already prepared. [B155–6; DB510]

Anís's stepfather tries to persuade him to change his mind. Anís's young son is also brought to ‘soften his heart' but Anís's resolve remains unshaken. [B156–7; DB509–10]

At noon the Báb and Mirza Muhammad-Ali Zunuzi, known as Anis are suspended on a wall in the square in front of the citadel of Tabríz in Sarbazkhaneh Square. They are shot by 750 soldiers in three ranks of 250 men. [B157; DB512]

When the smoke clears the Báb is gone and Anís is standing, unharmed, under the nail from which they were suspended. The Báb, also unhurt, is found back in his cell completing His dictation to His secretary. [B157–8; DB512–13]

See BBD200–1 and DB510–12, 514 for the story of Sám Khán, the Christian colonel of the Armenian regiment which was ordered to execute the Báb.

The Báb and Anís are suspended a second time. A new regiment, the Násirí, has been found to undertake the execution. After the volley, the bodies of the Báb and Anís are shattered. [B158; DB514]

See BBR77–82 for Western accounts of the event.

The face of the Báb is untouched. [B158]

At the moment the shots are fired a gale sweeps the city, stirring up so much dust that the city remains dark from noon until night. [B158; DB515]

See CH239 and DH197 for the story of the phenomenon of the two sunsets.

At night, the bodies are thrown onto the edge of the moat surrounding the city. Soldiers stand guard over them and, nearby; two Bábís, feigning madness, keep vigil. [B159; TN27]

from the main catalogue

20,000 Martyrs, Source of Statements about, by Universal House of Justice (1984). Two letters from the Research Department: one from 1984 identifies the source of the statement that 20,000 Bábís were martyred, and one from 2005 says that this source has not actually been found. [about]

Babi Concept of Holy War, The, by Denis MacEoin, in Religion, 12:2 (1982). An influential and controversial article, one of the first academic examinations of Babi history. Discusses Islamic jihad, Babi jihad, martyrdom, and political struggles. [about]

"I am all the Prophets": The Poetics of Pluralism in Bahá'í Texts, by Juan Cole, in Poetics Today, 14:3 (1993). Literary analysis of a passage from Tablet of Blood (Súriy-i-Damm) in which Bahá'u'lláh identifies Himself with all the past Prophets and their sufferings, depicting himself mortally wounded on the field of battle, like Imám Husayn. [about]

Martyrdom, by Todd Lawson, in Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World: Oxford Islamic Studies Online (2008). Overview of the history of and sacred texts about martyrdom in Islam, with a passing mention of the Baha'i Faith. [about]

Martyrdom in Jihad, by Jonah Winters (1997). Unlike Judeo-Christianity, Islam does not contain a core of martyrdom. Rather, it occurs in three disparate areas: war/jihad, asceticism, and Shi'ism. I examine the relationship between jihad and martyrdom and their classical and contemporary meanings. [about]

Martyrdom of the Bab: An Outline for Researchers, by David Merrick (2017). The events of the Martyrdom of the Bab, including the weeks before and days after, presented through complementary and contrasting accounts with commentary, suitable for anyone investigating the events in detail. [about]

Police Forces Bearing Arms, Bahá'í Enlistment in, by Universal House of Justice, in Bahá'í Studies Bulletin, 3:4 (1995). Two letters from the House on joining armed police forces, e.g. the Ulster Defence Regiment and the police force in Northern Ireland, and whether they would be allowed to bear arms. Also discussion of consummating marriage, and marrying an atheist. [about]

Remains of the Bab in Tehran, The, by Ahang Rabbani (1997). Brief bio of Aqa Husayn-'Ali Nur and an extract from Khatirat Muhajiri Az Isfahan, "Memoirs of a Refugee from Isfahan," discussing the history of these remains. Includes biographical notes. [about]